Wednesday, September 03, 2014

Former Bankruptcy chief Gillian Thompson appointed to ‘Window Dressing’ role of Judicial Complaints Reviewer, previously investigated Scottish Court hospitality junkets & court staff profit scams

Ex-head of AIB Gillian Thompson takes over Judicial watchdog role from the popular Moi Ali. SCOTLAND’S ‘powerless’ judicial watchdog charged with reviewing complaints against judges has a new head – Gillian Thompson OBE, appointment to the role of Judicial Complaints Reviewer (JCR) last week by Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill.

However, the appointment comes without any strengthening of powers for the role – described as “Window Dressing” by Scotland’s first JCR Moi Ali, who revealed to msps last year the Judicial Complaints Reviewer has no statutory powers to hold judges to account.

Scotland’s second JCR, Gillian Thompson is a retired civil servant with a career spanning four decades, during which time she was also Chief Executive of the Accountant in Bankruptcy between 2002 and 2009. As Chief Executive of the AIB, Ms Thompson supervised the regulation of the bankruptcy process including the performance of trustees and commissioners in the exercise of their statutory duties.

And in 2010, Gillian Thompson was asked to investigate irregularities in the Scottish Court Service involving staff failing to declare hospitality and using their court positions for personal profit & private gain - arising mostly from activities involving undeclared links to law firms & lawyers. Ms Thompson’s Report on Hospitality & Gifts in the SCS found court staff were secretly using their positions to financially profit from court activities.

The appointment of Ms Thompson to the office of Judicial Complaints Reviewer under the terms of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 – an appointment which requires approval from Scotland’s top judge, comes at a time where questions of the effectiveness of the JCR have brought the office and it’s lack of powers into sharp focus during msps deliberations and public debate on the lack of judicial transparency & accountability.

What's the point of a watchdog without teeth - Sunday Mail 22 September 2013Judges helped create a watchdog without teeth which ended up as window dressing. During debates at the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee last September, MSPs heard from Moi Ali, Scotland’s first Judicial Complaints Reviewer who described the role of JCR as “mere window dressing”. Moi Ali said the JCR’s office had no powers during an evidence session with msps who are currently investigating increased transparency of the judiciary as called for in Petition PE1458: Register of Interests for members of Scotland's judiciary.

Moi Ali told msps there is “little point” to her role as Scotland’s first ever Judicial Complaints Reviewer because of its lack of teeth. She said: “It’s fair to say because I don’t actually have any powers. There’s no real independent oversight.If you provide oversight without powers, then there’s almost little point to it.”

Answering further questions on the comparison of Scotland’s ‘powerless’ Judicial Complaints Reviewer to the equivalent office in England & Wales, the Office for Judicial Complaints - Moi Ali told MSPs: “It’s hard to say why, if you make a complaint about a judge in England or Wales, the powers available are so much wider compared to what happens in Scotland. Their approach couldn’t be more different in terms of openness.”

In England and Wales, the procedure regarding complaints about judges is very different from Scotland, where the Office for Judicial Complaints has 15 staff and publishes details of upheld complaints. If complainants remain dissatisfied with how their case was handled, they can appeal to the Judicial Appointment and Conduct Ombudsman, headed by Sir John Brigstocke, with 14 staff.

Video footage of Moi Ali’s appearance at the Scottish Parliament and questions from MSPs can be found here :

JCR Moi Ali gives evidence to Scottish Parliament on a proposed Register of Judicial Interests

JCR should have more powers – Moi Ali told Scottish Government. In her second annual report as Judicial Complaints Reviewer, Moi Ali called for the Scottish Government to give more powers to the JCR’s office to deal with errant judges.

Moi Ali said: “I think fundamentally the problem is the legislation. “The way it’s created, it’s about self- regulation so you have judges judging judges’ conduct. There isn’t really an independent element.“I’m presented as the independent element but, without the powers, I can’t be independent. We have the appearance of independent oversight but not the reality.”

In response to calls for greater powers for the JCR, Justice Secertary MacAskill refused to grant any extra powers, and First Minister Alex Salmond supported MacAskill's refusal during questions at FMQ’s by John WIlson MSP at the Scottish Parliament.

Since the hearing at Holyrood last year, media coverage has revealed further cases of questionable judicial conduct and judicial conflicts of interest including a case where Scotland’s top judge was forced to step aside because his own son appeared before him in a court case, reported HERE

New JCR Gillian Thompson reported on irregularities in Scottish Court Service hospitality:

Last year, Diary of Injustice reported on concerns regarding hospitality involving Scottish Court Service employees where Ms Thompson was asked by the Scottish Court Service to investigate reports of irregularities in hospitality given to court staff. The request for the investigation came after the SCS received Freedom of Information requests regarding hospitality in the courts, prompting concerns some staff may have accepted gifts or hospitality but failed to register.

Report said SCS Registers were insufficient, and Court staff involved in private gain fail to declare. Gillian Thompson’s Report on Hospitality & Gifts in the SCS stated the “The information currently captured on the registers is insufficient to provide assurance that staff are using their common sense and considering issues such as conflict of interest.

Ms Thompson went on to recommend the “SCS should revise the Policy on Acceptance of Gifts, Rewards and Hospitality to ensure that it is fit for purpose for all staff, taking account of the various roles performed within SCS. It may also be time to revisit the levels of value for gifts and hospitality.”

The former AIB’s report also revealed court staff were using their positions to earn money privately from their links with lawyers and law firms operating in courts, stating “Several staff raised the issue of sheriff clerks who carry out extrajudicial taxations and private assessments and who personally benefit financially from these activities.”

Ms Thompson’s report roundly condemned this practice, stating: “Not only is it inappropriate in terms of the civil service code requirements for staff who are public servants to be able to receive private gain from their employment it is also highly divisive when other staff see such benefits being derived from simply being in the right post of Auditor of Court within the Sheriff Courts.”

Ms Thompson recommended in her report the “SCS should bring the practice of sheriff clerks profiting privately from their employment by SCS to an end as quickly as possible”.

However, it now appears the practice of SCS employees working on the side continues, indicating the SCS has failed to curtail their staff from operating undeclared and highly profitable private ventures and even limited companies formed with law firms which clearly give rise to concerns of conflict of interest and continuing corruption in Scotland’s courts.

Many of these undeclared money making entities operated by currently serving Scottish Court Service employees are hidden from court scrutiny as SCS staff and clerks have got round the SCS ban by engaging relatives or friends & partners as directors in brazen attempts to avoid declaring interests, earnings and relationships with law firms, some of which are connected to members of the judiciary.

Previous articles on the lack of transparency within Scotland’s judiciary, investigations by Diary of Injustice including reports from the media, and video footage of debates at the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee deliberations on Petition PE1458: Register of Interests for members of Scotland's judiciary can be found here : A Register of Interests for Scotland's Judiciary

79 comments:

Anonymous said...

More window dressing then?

Anonymous said...

and where is Mr top judge Brian Gill and dunce MacAskill who keep telling us Scots law is worshiped the world over?What a joke!

Courts are crooked through and through from the judges right down to secretaries!

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear Moi Ali is no longer JCR.She will be missed!
Will Thompson's first move be to call for Gill's resignation and new powers to clamp down on all these junket judges?
The plot thickens..

Anonymous said...

Page 12 of the documents you have published state "Preliminary enquiries made by [CENSORED} and Graeme Marwick, Principal Clerk, indicate that there is some evidence that some staff at the High Court may have accepted gifts and/or hospitality from outside parties and these gifts and/or hospitality were accepted without seeking approval from senior managers or HRU (formerly PDU) or registered on gifts or hospitality registers.

This is a potential breach of the Civil Service Code and SCS’s
policy on the Acceptance of Gifts, Rewards and Hospitality."

Clearly breaches of the Civil Service code took place, and by the sounds of it more.

Was anyone sacked, disciplined or prosecuted for these breaches?

This is a staggering revelation and one very much worthy of newspapers attention.

Court staff can no longer be trusted until this is all out in the open and we know what is going on.

Anonymous said...

Judges allowed to investigate themselves and an ombudsman created with no powers to remedy - well there is a surprise NOT!

Proves you are right though - judges are just as crooked as lawyers and the rest.

Anonymous said...

Miss Ali was right to resign from this toothless position. We are back to the illusionists trying to create an image the Judges are being investigated when they use public money to protect their private interests.

I was telling my uncle the other day about the DOI blog because his partners brother died and she was mean to be on the will but her sister in law told her she is not, and they both have the same lawyer. The man who dies was a businessman. Perhaps none of them will get any money as their lawyer knows he is not regulated just like the Judges.

Anonymous said...

Thompson may have written the report but what good did it do?
As you point out the corruption continues in the courts and staff are still at it cooking the books with lawyers and this is a very important point here because this involves taxation of client fees to solicitors being taxed or audited and we all know where this is going as in faked up bills from lawyers for non existent work etc passed by courts under a cloak of impartiality when in reality it is the clerks who are taking money from lawyers to pass sky high fees clients can hardly afford to pay especially when the work has not actually been done.
And then what about the people who end up losing their livelihoods because some solicitor who knows a clerk gets a bill put through the court and threatens the client to pay up or else court ends up taking their car or house?
Lord Gill's courts are just a scam as are the people working in them.No wonder anyone who is supposed to look at complaints does not have any powers to do anything about it.

Anonymous said...

Is it my imagination or is this another example where you write about someone months before and they end up getting a job to try and shut you up?

exFOI Dunion ended up at the SLCC,probably an attempt to stop you having a go at lawyers, exSLCC Agnew goes to FOI, and there's plenty on their website about you, and now exAIB Gillian Thompson ends up as JCR after you wiped out the reputation of the judges.

Something going on here or what!

Diary of Injustice said...

@ 3 September 2014 22:19

No action has been taken by the SCS to close down any of the current list of private scams operated by SCS staff. Most of the 'undeclared' operations by SCS staff which pre-date Gillian Thompson's report have been altered to get around the ban in some highly inventive ways ...

@ 4 September 2014 09:18

Regarding the details involving the will, it is likely the lawyer and the bank will line their pockets before anyone else receives their bequests ...

When it comes to lawyers and wills ... remember the saying "Where there's a will there's a crook" ...

@ 4 September 2014 10:14

Good points ... court users should question the service they receive from SCS staff and the air miles judiciary much more ... and publicise their difficulties with the justice system in the media ...

@ 4 September 2014 15:37

If more effort were expended in reforming the justice system and cleaning it up ... along with giving the judiciary a good bath in the waters of transparency, the courts would be a better place.

However it is clear the judges and the legal profession prefer it this way ... adversarial, intimidatory, distant, aloof from reality and expensive to the point of ruining anyone who bothers to use rickety old judges based in the Court of Session who prefer First Class flights off to a distant art exhibition, sword dance and round of golf ...

Anonymous said...

@ 4 September 2014 09:18

Regarding the details involving the will, it is likely the lawyer and the bank will line their pockets before anyone else receives their bequests ...

When it comes to lawyers and wills ... remember the saying "Where there's a will there's a crook" ...
==================================
Oh yes DOI, I told my uncle what happened to Peter and the battle he had with the Law Society. They are a bunch of self protecting criminals, so why should Judges be any different.

Anonymous said...

If more effort were expended in reforming the justice system and cleaning it up ... along with giving the judiciary a good bath in the waters of transparency, the courts would be a better place.

However it is clear the judges and the legal profession prefer it this way ... adversarial, intimidatory, distant, aloof from reality and expensive to the point of ruining anyone who bothers to use rickety old judges based in the Court of Session who prefer First Class flights off to a distant art exhibition, sword dance and round of golf ...

Well said and to the point.You obliterate all that waffle from Gill and his chums.Good thing we have you as a counterbalance against their despotic rule by fear.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting that report you have and how it portrays the people who work in courts.

How deep does this corruption go?

Anonymous said...

“Several staff raised the issue of sheriff clerks who carry out extrajudicial taxations and private assessments and who personally benefit financially from these activities.”

Arrests and prosecutions for these acts NOTHING LESS

“Not only is it inappropriate in terms of the civil service code requirements for staff who are public servants to be able to receive private gain from their employment it is also highly divisive when other staff see such benefits being derived from simply being in the right post of Auditor of Court within the Sheriff Courts.”

BRIBES BY ANOTHER NAME!

Anonymous said...

Isnt it amazing how everyone sits around writing these reports and bugger all happens in the end to the ones breaking whatever rules or taking bungs or backhanders.

As you say the courts are completely corrupt and people should wise up instead of running to lawyers to try and get some magical justice completely out of reach unless its a lawyer or a rotten judge.

Anonymous said...

Thanks to Moi Ali the msps are better informed of what the judges are up to.What a pity she could not stay on as judicial complaints reviewer but I suppose Lord Gill and his cohorts did not like to hear the truth told!

Anonymous said...

Troublemaker!and a good thing too!

Anonymous said...

Sloppy MacAskill has still not changed the Judicial Complaints Review website it still shows Moi Ali on the front page!

Anonymous said...

Dont hear anything yet from Ms Thompson on a call for new powers!

Anonymous said...

"it is also highly divisive when other staff see such benefits being derived from simply being in the right post of Auditor of Court within the Sheriff Courts.”

diddums!

What I see here is some of the court staff are jealous they are missing out on the junkets or should I say bribes.

Stands to reason.If they were all in it no one would have said anything would they and as there are either too many staff or not enough cases and lawyers bungs to go round someone is going to miss out and get the hump.

Remember folks these are the same people who decide if you are going to be heard in court or not by a wee whisper in the ear of some "rickety old judge" as Peter describes m'lordships so well.

So if any of these clerks who miss out on the backhanders want to redeem themselves how about telling all to DOI and of course the newspapers so everyone knows what they are dealing with in Lord Gill's business empire.

Anonymous said...

"Many of these undeclared money making entities operated by currently serving Scottish Court Service employees are hidden from court scrutiny as SCS staff and clerks have got round the SCS ban by engaging relatives or friends & partners as directors in brazen attempts to avoid declaring interests, earnings and relationships with law firms, some of which are connected to members of the judiciary."

Nasty!

SCS staff create duff companies to get round the ban and presumably have their wives kids etc as directors and staff.

This is just like politicians who claim for their wives working as secretaries in their office!

Is there no part of society not on the take?

Anonymous said...

A member of staff was caught red handed altering a diet of taxation for a solicitor who employes their partner.Substantial sums involved and a big name law firm Edinburgh based.

No action was taken possibly due to the fact the manager it was reported to is also known to do business with the very same law firm.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Sloppy MacAskill has still not changed the Judicial Complaints Review website it still shows Moi Ali on the front page!

5 September 2014 10:17

Yes I also just checked.Maybe she read this and did a bunk to Qatar with Lord Gill and all the others DOI exposed!

Anonymous said...


Anonymous said...

Judges allowed to investigate themselves and an ombudsman created with no powers to remedy - well there is a surprise NOT!

Proves you are right though - judges are just as crooked as lawyers and the rest.
---------------------------------
Judges have been through the Law Society system so cannot be anything other than professional criminals. The public must learn there is no regulation of any lawyer in Scotland.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Thompson may have written the report but what good did it do?
As you point out the corruption continues in the courts and staff are still at it cooking the books with lawyers and this is a very important point here because this involves taxation of client fees to solicitors being taxed or audited and we all know where this is going as in faked up bills from lawyers for non existent work etc passed by courts under a cloak of impartiality when in reality it is the clerks who are taking money from lawyers to pass sky high fees clients can hardly afford to pay especially when the work has not actually been done.
And then what about the people who end up losing their livelihoods because some solicitor who knows a clerk gets a bill put through the court and threatens the client to pay up or else court ends up taking their car or house?
Lord Gill's courts are just a scam as are the people working in them.No wonder anyone who is supposed to look at complaints does not have any powers to do anything about it.

4 September 2014 10:14
//////////////////////////////////////

Note that despite all the scandal and corruption absolutely nothing happens to sort it out?

The police are prevented from investigating, allowing these people to be above the law in order to screw as much money from the Scottish Public as possible?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Is it my imagination or is this another example where you write about someone months before and they end up getting a job to try and shut you up?

exFOI Dunion ended up at the SLCC,probably an attempt to stop you having a go at lawyers, exSLCC Agnew goes to FOI, and there's plenty on their website about you, and now exAIB Gillian Thompson ends up as JCR after you wiped out the reputation of the judges.

Something going on here or what!

4 September 2014 15:37
££££££££££££££££££££

Especially when she broke the law in covering up for the Law Society of Scotland, which was swept under the carpet and was the reason she was forced to leave the Accountant in Bankruptcy post?

Anonymous said...

If more effort were expended in reforming the justice system and cleaning it up ... along with giving the judiciary a good bath in the waters of transparency, the courts would be a better place.

However it is clear the judges and the legal profession prefer it this way ... adversarial, intimidatory, distant, aloof from reality and expensive to the point of ruining anyone who bothers to use rickety old judges based in the Court of Session who prefer First Class flights off to a distant art exhibition, sword dance and round of golf ...

4 September 2014 16:12
------------------------------------

The best analogy of the Scottish Justice System is like a huge aquarium filled with different sharks and other bottom feeders who are involved in a feeding frenzy when you and other victims are thrown into their tank as shark bait.

They all fight for a piece of you, with the result that regardless of whether you win or lose your case, that the point is that they make it that you lose everything and sometimes even your life.

So, just like an aquarium, it is an alien environment, where you cannot breath, cannot get rescued and where it is a certainty that all sides are circling in on you to seal your fate.

Rotten in every way.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
“Several staff raised the issue of sheriff clerks who carry out extrajudicial taxations and private assessments and who personally benefit financially from these activities.”

Arrests and prosecutions for these acts NOTHING LESS

“Not only is it inappropriate in terms of the civil service code requirements for staff who are public servants to be able to receive private gain from their employment it is also highly divisive when other staff see such benefits being derived from simply being in the right post of Auditor of Court within the Sheriff Courts.”

BRIBES BY ANOTHER NAME!

4 September 2014 19:32
:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:,:,:,,:,;;;;;;

The definition of a corrupt State is where corruption is widely exposed, where the evidence is clear and without doubt, yet they are let off Scot Free.

This sums up the Law Society of Scotland, the SSDT, the SLCC, the Crown Office, the SLAB and the Scottish Justice System.

Common denominator is Scottish Lawyers, the leperous disease drawing Scotland down.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
"Many of these undeclared money making entities operated by currently serving Scottish Court Service employees are hidden from court scrutiny as SCS staff and clerks have got round the SCS ban by engaging relatives or friends & partners as directors in brazen attempts to avoid declaring interests, earnings and relationships with law firms, some of which are connected to members of the judiciary."

Nasty!

SCS staff create duff companies to get round the ban and presumably have their wives kids etc as directors and staff.

This is just like politicians who claim for their wives working as secretaries in their office!

Is there no part of society not on the take?

5 September 2014 12:25
??????????????????????????

They (including Scottish Judges) should be sacked on block and be forced to reapply for their jobs back but must first take part in psychometric testing to weed out the liars and cheats and then they should have to undertake regular lie detector tests (polygraphs) by experienced practitioners as part of their job description, which are 92.8% accurate and reliable!

Only then will we be able to start to rid Scotland of these evil, greedy scam artists.

Anonymous said...

This appointment is a gigantic move in the opposite direction to truth and transparency.

Gillian Thompson has shown in her previous role that she is a lackey for the Law Society of Scotland, so we know that she has no will or motivation to protect the Scottish Public or to properly and fairly deal with complaints?

In short, she is an establishment stooge and the door has been slammed-shut on truth, transparency and reconciliation?

We are bit by bit becoming a closed State, where they have the power to subjugate us and silence us into submission, so that they have the Scotland that serves them and not the Scottish Public?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the read and that report you obtained nails the court staff down on dishonesty.

There must be some honest employees of the Scottish Court Service reading this and wondering what the point is of being honest if most of their colleagues the courts are dishonest.

Must be a horrible work environment.

Anonymous said...

All I can say is Thank God for the DOI because it is the only way we can find out what is really going on.

Anonymous said...

Are you going to write anything on the independence referendum?

Anonymous said...

I have not heard one good story of someone going to court and obtaining what they thought was justice so not surprised to learn the court workers are all rotten to the core just like the lawyers and both are in bed with each other.

It is probably a million times worse than the report even touched on because the staff will all be lying to cover up what they are doing with the lawyers and the judges.

Diary of Injustice said...

@5 September 2014 13:43

Sounds interesting ... and those involved should be publicly identified.Email more details to scottishlawreporters@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Isnt it amazing how everyone sits around writing these reports and bugger all happens in the end to the ones breaking whatever rules or taking bungs or backhanders.

As you say the courts are completely corrupt and people should wise up instead of running to lawyers to try and get some magical justice completely out of reach unless its a lawyer or a rotten judge.

4 September 2014 21:56
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

The usual Scottish lawyer response is, oh how terrible..we will need to learn the lessons and make sure this does not happen in the future..

i.e. let's let the crooks off Scot Free now and batten down the hatches so that there are no further leaks like this.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Anonymous said...
Is it my imagination or is this another example where you write about someone months before and they end up getting a job to try and shut you up?

exFOI Dunion ended up at the SLCC,probably an attempt to stop you having a go at lawyers, exSLCC Agnew goes to FOI, and there's plenty on their website about you, and now exAIB Gillian Thompson ends up as JCR after you wiped out the reputation of the judges.

Something going on here or what!

4 September 2014 15:37
££££££££££££££££££££

Especially when she broke the law in covering up for the Law Society of Scotland, which was swept under the carpet and was the reason she was forced to leave the Accountant in Bankruptcy post?

6 September 2014 16:13
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember back to the time when Rosemary Agnew was Chief Executive at the SLCC, responsible for outrageous attacks against Mr Cherbi, especially when she was 'suddenly' parachuted into the position of FOI Chief Executive?

This was parachuting because she did not attend the job interviews that other candidates had to, therefore, she was put into this role in an emergency?

Wonder why?

Maybe something to do with a scandal at the SLCC at that time that has since been made secret from the Scottish Public?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Thanks for the read and that report you obtained nails the court staff down on dishonesty.

There must be some honest employees of the Scottish Court Service reading this and wondering what the point is of being honest if most of their colleagues the courts are dishonest.

Must be a horrible work environment.

7 September 2014 16:16
-----------------------------------

Remember DOI's report on the Crown Office bonus scandal, where they were wanting a cut of the money that they I gathered from apparent criminals (where is the accounting for this money or is it used as a slush fund)?

Chaos, greed and the absence of the rule of law what Scottish lawyers are all about?

Anything to 'create' a climate of victims for them to prey off of?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
A member of staff was caught red handed altering a diet of taxation for a solicitor who employes their partner.Substantial sums involved and a big name law firm Edinburgh based.

No action was taken possibly due to the fact the manager it was reported to is also known to do business with the very same law firm.

5 September 2014 13:43
+++++++++++++++++++++++

There is good reason to believe that the Law Society of Scotland also perpetrates a fraud using this scam, whereby they take over failing Sole Practitioner lawyers firms and then refuse to pay Client Victims back money that is held by them in their name?

The practise should be for the Law Society of Scotland to lodge these monies with the Queens and Lords Treasurer Remembrancer for safe keeping until it is claimed by the Client Victim but instead the Law Society of Scotland hold onto Client Victims cash and then force them to 'prove' that they are owed money or forces them into this 'Fee-Taxation Scam' and then they pocket Client Victims money and pay it into their own coffers boosting their cash surplus?

This can be evidenced by checking their Profit & Loss Accounts online as 'Receipts from Sole Practitioner Firms' and was the reason that the Law Society of Scotland were forced to change Auditing Accountants, when the fraud was discovered?

All a commonly practised fraud against the Scottish Public?

Anonymous said...

This appointment is tantamount to asking a seal to guard the lobsters!

Anonymous said...

A friend who formerly worked for SCS told me of cases where lawyers walked into sheriff's chambers and parted with favours and documents ending in many a not guilty verdict for drink driving and other prosecutions in sheriff court.She said it was common knowledge a sheriff clerk was making over twelve thousand pounds on the side and much of it paid in cash from local solicitors.

Maybe the taxman should be investigating all the court staff because they wont be paying tax on the brown envelopes.

Anonymous said...

Thats nothing court staff being friendly with lawyers, how about a sheriff clerk being married to a jail bird. So how about that for a conflict of interest their partner being processed through the same court system they work in.

Diary of Injustice said...

@ 8 September 2014 18:49

Yes ... many of the private ventures undertaken by SCS staff with law firms appear to be in cash .. however there are companies registered in the names of relatives, friends and partners of SCS staff who sometimes appear as directors in these arrangements.

Regarding the cash deals it would be a good idea for HMRC to look into these under the table arrangements ... which link back in several cases to law firms who employ judges on various well paid and ... undeclared duties ...

@ 8 September 2014 20:22

This video clip is from when Lord Hamilton was Lord President ... and yes, it is very far from the current reality of Scotland's courts where the rule of law and the public's access to justice seem to have been lost in pocket lining exercises by the judiciary and the Scottish Court Service ...

@ 8 September 2014 20:47

There are a few of these examples going about in the system including former Crown Office staff who resigned after being charged with criminal offences then transferring to the Scottish Court Service ... please email more details to scottishlawreporters@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

You are a master of trouble Mr C! but it is a good thing we have you!

Anonymous said...

Obviously Moi Ali is such a good JCR they wont want to let her go - the JCR's website still shows her in the post!

Anonymous said...

Why are the police utterly powerless to arrest these white collar criminals?

Are they being stopped from making arrests of Scottish lawyers?

Anonymous said...

I feel you should write a post about the indy vote if only to offer us some decent advice from someone (you) who does NOT have a vested interest!

Consider it a request!

Anonymous said...

I know exactly what you mean about clerks in bed with lawyers - We had a fight with our solicitors about a bill and when they threatened to take us to court I told them I was fine with it then when it went to court the clerks were on the side of the lawyers all the time and guess what the sheriff signed it off and demanded we pay up and no one bothered to check up on the lawyer actually doing any work because he did not it was one of his secretaries who did it and made a mess of the payment for the purchase of adjoining land.The lawyer conned us with a bill of £13,539 I asked for it to be taxed and the clerk who always made sure she was the one to deal with it said we should pay more anyway and just to pay up.Sheriff is corrupt clerks are corrupt courts are corrupt please dont trust any of them anyone who is unfortunate enough to be in court.

Diary of Injustice said...

@ 9 September 2014 11:56

Lord Advocate & Crown Office hold Police Scotland back ... any honest officer will admit it ...

@ 9 September 2014 13:11

There will be an article on the independence referendum next week.

@ 9 September 2014 16:32

Chances are this clerk has done the same to others and probably the Sheriff has too ... please email in further details of the case and identify all the parties concerned to scottishlawreporters@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I know exactly what you mean about clerks in bed with lawyers - We had a fight with our solicitors about a bill and when they threatened to take us to court I told them I was fine with it then when it went to court the clerks were on the side of the lawyers all the time and guess what the sheriff signed it off and demanded we pay up and no one bothered to check up on the lawyer actually doing any work because he did not it was one of his secretaries who did it and made a mess of the payment for the purchase of adjoining land.The lawyer conned us with a bill of £13,539 I asked for it to be taxed and the clerk who always made sure she was the one to deal with it said we should pay more anyway and just to pay up.Sheriff is corrupt clerks are corrupt courts are corrupt please dont trust any of them anyone who is unfortunate enough to be in court.

9 September 2014 16:32

=================================

This is almost a mirror situation to a very bad case manipulated by clerk staff and judges within the Perth Sheriff court. What court did this happen in?

Anonymous said...

Not much in the indy ref for anyone screwed over by the courts is there because neither side are offering to clean it up!

Anonymous said...

Interesting comments.

Am I right in saying sheriffs and clerks are colluding to allow crooked lawyers to charge what they like and take it to court?

This has to be stamped out and if there are any such cases the people should be given their money back and then some for the damages caused.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Obviously Moi Ali is such a good JCR they wont want to let her go - the JCR's website still shows her in the post!

9 September 2014 11:14
??????????????????????

Maybe they are expecting GT to resign in disgrace again and are saving money on not updating their website?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
I know exactly what you mean about clerks in bed with lawyers - We had a fight with our solicitors about a bill and when they threatened to take us to court I told them I was fine with it then when it went to court the clerks were on the side of the lawyers all the time and guess what the sheriff signed it off and demanded we pay up and no one bothered to check up on the lawyer actually doing any work because he did not it was one of his secretaries who did it and made a mess of the payment for the purchase of adjoining land.The lawyer conned us with a bill of £13,539 I asked for it to be taxed and the clerk who always made sure she was the one to deal with it said we should pay more anyway and just to pay up.Sheriff is corrupt clerks are corrupt courts are corrupt please dont trust any of them anyone who is unfortunate enough to be in court.

9 September 2014 16:32
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Further example, if it were ever needed, that they are running the Scottish Court System as a business for their own enrichment and not as an independent arbiter of the law?

I would be surprised if they even opened your Client File to examine what was done?

A fraud?

Anonymous said...

had no idea Scotland was in such a bad way with the courts pity really but as you say best avoid them if you can

Anonymous said...

All the ostriches do is sink their heads deeper into the sand.

Anonymous said...

What a Whitewash!

Anonymous said...

Moi Ali said the jcr has no powers to do anything about crooked judges and MacAskill refused to do anything about it so am not expecting anything to change because it is the judges who are in control with politicians in their pockets.

Gill does not care about anyone he refused to go to parliament and flies all over the place as if he is the king.All the judges are the same so no point in going anywhere near a court or wasting all that money on lawyers is there when the judge is as crooked as the people who are damaging you.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like more window dressing for the judges!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Judges allowed to investigate themselves and an ombudsman created with no powers to remedy - well there is a surprise NOT!

Proves you are right though - judges are just as crooked as lawyers and the rest.

4 September 2014 02:44

True.If it were otherwise the judges wouldnt have been allowed anything to do with complaints against themselves

Anonymous said...

This has just sealed the fate of complaints against Scottish judges and Sheriffs.

Anonymous said...

Don't bother writing anything about independence!I come here to shelter from it all and anyway the judges and lawyers are far more interesting because it will be they who ultimate decide what happens when the whole thing breaks down next Friday!

Anonymous said...

I wonder what GT thinks of you publishing this report of hers now she is JCR.
Do you think she will stick to calls for more powers or not?

Anonymous said...

This appointment is a slap in the face for Moi Ali and is a travesty of justice for transparency, truth and of hope that things could change?

Anonymous said...

No, you cannot have a complaint against a Scottish Sheriff or judge and the person we have appointed will preserve the status quo?

Diary of Injustice said...

@ 9 September 2014 19:28

There will be a further report along with some more startling revelations on what court staff are up to in secret ...

@ 11 September 2014 14:25

You may be correct ... there is chatter among the legal classes, and for the past year what can only be described as a discreet flight of judicial assets ...

Anonymous said...

The People have to be protected from their Government because Governments are made up of politicians who are constantly back-stabbing each other for political advantage and career advancement and are perpetually worried about bad news getting out, therefore they keep things secret from the Public?

Scottish Judges and Sheriffs are supposed to be paragons of truth and honesty, with the utmost propriety over everything they do?

So why on Earth are they so maniacal over secrecy and keeping things secret from the Scottish Public?

Makes you wonder?

Anonymous said...

Why would Scottish sheriffs and judges want to snuff out complaints made against them if they have nothing to hide?

Anonymous said...

scs workers have been on the take for years and helping lawyers to rip people off then having a big laugh about it at the weekend

Anonymous said...

Another victory for corruption and secrecy then?

Anonymous said...

Reading your blog I begin to feel we have similar problems in England.Anyway as you may be about to go independent what do you think the future holds for people who are being ripped off by their lawyers and the courts??

Any better or worse?

Anonymous said...

This is a shockingly bad development.

Anonymous said...

The JCR website still has Moi Ali on it!

Are they not eager to put Gillian Thompson on it for some reason?

Anonymous said...

Scotland is going down the tubes with the status quo left in control.

Anonymous said...

Good blog and powerful issues you raise about judges.

I support your idea about a register for the judges interests.All countries and judges must have a register and complete transparency of courts or we may end up with a disaster like the Scottish justice system.

Anonymous said...

We are so fortunate to have the wise DOI journalists to provide us with the truth of what is going on behind our backs.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Reading your blog I begin to feel we have similar problems in England.Anyway as you may be about to go independent what do you think the future holds for people who are being ripped off by their lawyers and the courts??

Any better or worse?

14 September 2014 18:31
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Scottish lawyers and the Judicial & Prosecutorial Systems in Scotland are hopelessly corrupt and there is no sign of change and Scotland is heading head long into being a closed Police State like the old Czechoslovakia?

Anonymous said...

This is a depressing day for Scotland.

Anonymous said...

Moi Ali is still pictured on the JCR website as JCR!

scaramangie said...

Thompson is thee chink in the armour everywhere she is told to go., that's right , she's the odd job girl that is trusted not to grass on any scheme or any individual for that matter. Given Thompson's past record of being manoeuvred into position any time it was required by some untrustworthy entity, we can be assured in this instance it will have precious little to do with back handers and fiddles xwithin the SCS, there is a bigger issue behind her appointment, there always is. You see, what does it for Thompson, is that she loves running around playing the big woman and actually believing she is the law, but in fact, she's really quite insignificant. She is merely a mole owned, programmed and controlled by GLSS and the OSSE. The law society use her a lot for their own means and their link back in the day was through individuals such as Richard Henderson and Alan Gordon and uunfettered access to their big money laundering machine, The Office of the Accountant in
Bankruptcy , run by one of their key sub bottoms
Gillian Thompson. Now remember, the AIB isn't like public bodies, oh on that wouldn't work.
The AIB is an Agency of the Scottish Ministers and is run secretly and exclusively by GLSS and the then OSSE and operationally it's the same today.
Why this should be important to the public is because it's important to the Law Society, a bit like the bring out you're dead scene from Monty Python, where the law society carts all their money thieves. Bingo! From the moment, the risk of scandal, information leaks etc falls by 90%, technically the thieves enter protective custody and diplomatic immunity thrown in for free. The greatest advantage of using the AIB for that purpose, is any questions or weapons inspectors come knocking at their door, they don't even have to answer if they don't want to , why? because it's run by Messrs GLSS & Co, you would get into the Federal Reserve to carry out an audit easier. And finally, the way it's set-up lends itself perfectly to those who are not thieves., who by in large can be doing very well and a long way being a candidate for bankruptcy, in that case, all you've gotta be is cumbersome to one of the inner circle and they will fake everything, from service of documents., to bribing Sheriff Officers and not least our good friends in SCS and they will come and take everything off you., including your lawyer friend of 25 years and there's absolutely nothing that you can do about it, you are now their property and it happens every single day im afraid - No Surrender